Miramare Castle Photo Gallery

The Miramare Castle (Italian: Castello di Miramare; German: Schloß Miramar; Slovene: Grad Miramar) is a 19th century castle on the Gulf of Trieste near Trieste, northeastern Italy. It was built from 1856 to 1860 for Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian and his wife, Charlotte of Belgium, later Emperor Maximilian I and Empress Carlota of Mexico, to a design by Carl Junker.

The castle's grounds include an extensive cliff and seashore park of 22 hectares (54 acres) designed by the Archduke. The grounds were completely re-landscaped to feature numerous tropical species of trees and plants.

The Castle of Miramare and its Park were built by order of Ferdinand Maximilian (1832–1867), of the House of Habsburg - younger brother of Franz Joseph, Emperor of Austria. In 1850, at the age of eighteen, Maximilian came to Trieste with his brother Charles and, immediately afterwards, he set off on a short cruise toward the near East. This journey confirmed his intention to sail and to get to know the World. In 1852 he was appointed Officer and in 1854 he became Commander in Chief of the Imperial Navy. He decided to move to Trieste and to have a home built facing the sea and surrounded by a park worthy of his name and rank.